Post navigation

iCloud Hacked: Celebrity Photos Leaked to the World

On August 31 approximately 200 private pictures of various celebrities were posted to 4chan. Users of 4chan spread the pictures to other social networks and websites such as Imgur, Reddit, and Tumblr. McKayla Maroney, the Olympic gold medalist is among the group of people who had their photos released to the public. The pictures released of her are underage. That is classified as possession and distribution of child pornography. Twitter user @IgnacioGordo tweeted a link featuring a countdown clock that threatens to release photos of Emma Watson and at the bottom of the page it states, “Never forget, the biggest to come thus far.” Apple’s iCloud service is believed to have been breached and that is how the hackers acquired personal videos and photos. Apple later confirmed that the hackers gathered the photos from iCloud and reassured that the service itself is not vulnerable. Very targeted attacks were used to steal account information such as passwords. The gathered information along with time allowed the hackers to break in. Apple has stated that they are working with the FBI to locate and charge those responsible for the leak.